


Two if By…

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finding out how Hotch felt…it would probably be simpler to grow wings and fly away.  That might be easier too since despite two fast feet she wasn’t running yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two if By…

“Here you go.” Hotch came out of the house. He handed Emily a cold beer and sat beside her on the porch swing.

“Thanks.”

“This may sound strange but I never expected to find beer in your parents’ refrigerator.”

“Why not?” She looked at him.

“I don't know; they're…”

“Snooty?” Emily replied.

“I wasn’t going to say that. I like your parents a lot. At least it’s the good stuff.”

“Nat only drinks the good stuff. She's actually more of a wine drinker but always keeps a six-pack of beer and a six-pack of Woodchuck Cider in the fridge for when she's in the mood.” Emily shivered as lightning flashed across the sky. Thunder crackled a few minutes later. “Jules and I usually drink it all during the holidays. I can't believe how close I finally live to my dad and Nat and I still mostly see them just on holidays.”

“You're here now.” Hotch said.

“Yeah, and they're in Geneva at a conference.”

“They might possibly be pulling a Mr. and Mrs. Smith and thwarting a government coup.”

“In Geneva, Hotch?”

“They told you they were going to Geneva.”

“I think it’s so funny that you think my parents are secret government agents.” Emily said.

“I think it’s so funny that you don’t.” Hotch grinned. His dimples made Emily grin too.

“I'm sorry Hotch.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“I was being a total wuss and called you out here on a dark and stormy night.”

“I would never use wuss and Emily Prentiss in the same sentence.” Hotch drank his beer.

“I'm scared of thunderstorms…and I hate the suburbs.”

“What's wrong with the suburbs?” He asked.

The Prentisses had a large, five bedroom house in Chevy Chase, Maryland. They had land, trees, and all the other things people wanted when they left the city behind. On a stormy night like this, it was quite a creepy place. Everything creaked, bumped, and groaned. It was freaking Emily out.

Every time she looked outside all she saw was darkness and driving rain. That was another thing she hated about the suburbs. Where the hell were all the lights? Streetlights shone on Peachtree Grove where her parents lived but there was a large front lawn and semi-circular driveway between the light poles and the house. She debated about it for nearly an hour before calling Hotch’s cell phone.

“Hotchner.”

“Hi, it’s me.”

“What's the matter?” Hotch asked.

“Why does something have to be wrong?”

“Your voice is different. What's going on Emily; where are you?”

“I'm at my parents’ house…and I hate thunderstorms.”

“What are you doing there?” He asked.

“I'm house-sitting. I thought it might be nice to get out of the city for the night. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Do you want some company?”

“Yes.” Emily couldn’t get the word out fast enough. Then she changed her mind. “You can't drive in this weather, Hotch. I saw on the news that there's some localized flooding and downed power lines all over the Corridor. I'm just being silly; you don’t need to come to my rescue.”

“That’s not what I'm doing.” Hotch replied. “I'm alone here, and I'm not the biggest fan of storms. You're alone there. I’ll come over and we won't be alone anymore. And don’t worry about my driving. I have the Silverado; it’s like a rock.”

He laughed a bit at his own joke. Emily thought what he was saying might be Hotch-ese for ‘I want to be with you’. She was just getting conversational in a language that was thus far the hardest she ever attempted to learn. This was a girl who had mastered Arabic by the time she was seven. Like all things in her life, Emily wanted to master this new language as well.

“Alright.” She said. There was no point in arguing. She called him for a reason and he said exactly what she wanted him to. Why would she want to mess with such a rare occurrence? Plus the lights were flickering and she didn’t want to be alone in a thunderstorm and blackout. “Please drive carefully.”

“I always do and I’ll be there soon.”

Now he was there. They sat side by side in the porch swing watching and listening to the rainfall. Emily turned off most of the lights in the house to be safe. She also got tired of them flickering like something out of a Wes Craven film. Now she had two hurricane lamps on the porch giving all the light she needed for right now.

“What scares you?” She asked.

“Hmm?” Hotch looked away from the weather and at her. She was beautiful in the dim lamplight. She was beautiful in any light actually.

“What scares you? You said on the phone you didn’t like thunderstorms.”

“I'm not a big fan but they don’t scare me. I don’t like chaos though.”

“And thunderstorms aren’t chaotic?” Emily asked.

“They're just an act of nature. I remember when I was a kid…” Hotch took a deep breath. “I just get jumpy sometimes when there are loud noises or someone screams. I can't say it scares me but it…the right phrase would be throws me off my game.”

“You work in the BAU. Did you do that to conquer your chaos fear?”

“We bring order to chaos, I think. The BAU is the calm in the storm because no matter what happens, the job doesn’t change. It never gets boring either.”

“That’s for sure.” Emily nodded.

“Why are you so afraid of thunderstorms?”

“I grew up in the desert, Hotch. I don’t even remember thunderstorms being a part of my life until I was about eight. I'm sure I must have experienced one before then but I don’t remember.

“The first one I remember was in Bonn, Germany and we had a blackout and I was petrified. I thought the world was exploding. For the life of me I can't shake that feeling when they get bad. I'm glad you're here.” She reached for his hand. “I don’t care if that makes me sound like a wuss.”

“Stop saying that, Emily.” He smiled. “You know I'm here for more than the thunderstorm. I hope you know that.”

He said the last part quietly but she was sitting right beside him so it wasn’t hard to hear. She rubbed her fingers across his knuckles while looking straight ahead.

“Well the good beer was part of it, right?”

“The beer is fantastic. It’d be hard for any man in his right mind to turn it down.”

They were quiet for a while, listening to the sounds of the storm all around them. This weather was supposed to stretch into Sunday with a possibility of drizzle going into Monday morning. By Monday afternoon it would all be a distant memory. It was nearly June and the wild weather would be followed by the first glimpses of summer.

“I should probably turn in soon.” Emily said. “One thing this weather does is make for good sleep.”

“It makes for a lot of good things.” Hotch replied.

“You're going to stay?” She looked at him.

“Yes ma'am.” He nodded. “I don't want to leave you alone, Emily. I don’t want to leave you.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. Their relationship—is that what it was—was a roller coaster ride. Emily was in love and she knew how that always ended. Finding out how Hotch felt…it would probably be simpler to grow wings and fly away. That might be easier too since despite two fast feet she wasn’t running yet.

Thinking about it, and not wanting to think about it, Emily lit her nightly clove. She moved her feet and the porch swing slowly swayed back and forth. Hotch seemed content with his beer and the storm. He still held her hand in his. It felt like a timid first date sitting there on her parents’ porch.

He wanted so much from this thing they were developing. They needed to take it slow, for so many different reasons. There were times Hotch didn’t feel in control of what was happening and he didn’t like that. Sometimes it was chaos…he was definitely off his game.

“I think you should come with me on Monday to the barbecue Jessie’s having.” Hotch said.

“What?”

“Jessie is having a Memorial Day barbecue. I promised Jack I would be there; I think you should come with me.”

“I don’t know. That might not be such a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Haley’s gonna be there, Hotch.”

“Yeah. She is Jessie’s sister and Jack’s mother…”

“…And your ex-wife.” Emily finished.

“Emily…”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“You don’t think what is a good idea? You don’t think us spending time together is a good idea? You don’t think getting to know Jack better is a good idea? What don’t you think is a good idea?”

“Having this conversation isn’t a good idea.” She mumbled, taking her hand from his. “I don’t want to do this tonight. There are enough storms raging around here.”

Hotch sighed, not saying another word. Wouldn’t they have to talk eventually? They found so many ways around it but the time was coming where they would have to walk through. They would have to walk through slowly and mind the minefields. It wasn’t just his life either, there were plenty of things about Emily that he didn’t know.

The issue was that her issues weren't staring the couple in the face. That didn’t mean they weren't there, right below the thin surface of what they were trying to create. It was impossible to build a home on a sinking foundation. He smiled when Emily leaned her head on his shoulder.

“I’ll think about it, Aaron.” She whispered. “I’ll think about it even though you have this tendency to kill the romance.”

“I put it on life support.” He replied. “You revive it, always.”

“I do that because I love you, plain and simple.”

“It’s not so plain; surely not that simple.”

“That’s where you're wrong.” Emily took two more puffs off the clove before putting it out. It was bedtime. She stood up from the swing and held out her hands for him.

They went into the darkened house and straight up the stairs. The hall light was on as they went into what was once Emily’s bedroom. He’d been in her parents’ house before but never in her bedroom. It didn’t matter; he wasn’t in the mood for the grand tour tonight.

Emily disappeared into the bathroom while Hotch undressed. He folded his jeans and tee shirt, putting them on the chair. Then he placed his socks on top, slipping into bed with only his boxer briefs on. When Emily came out, she got into bed beside him.

“I know we have so much to discuss and learn and hide.” She said, turning to look at him. “I would really prefer not to take the crash course. We have time, Hotch; I think we have time.”

“Alright.” He didn’t know what else to say. Emily was right but she was wrong too. The day would come when all the joy something like this brought wouldn’t be coupled with such doubt. He pulled Emily into his arms, stealing a kiss. He stole another, and another, smiling against her soft lips.

Hotch’s gentle fingers brushed raven hair from her cheek. “I'm right where I want to be, Emily. How I got here doesn’t matter, just that I am; and that I'm staying. Just try to get rid of me.”

“Mmm,” She ran her hands down his smooth chest. “I would never. I’m…”

“Tell me.” He kissed her again, slowly, passionately.

“You tell me, Aaron…you show me.”

He pulled the tank top over her head before moving over her. Even in the dark Hotch could see her beautiful smile and it filled his heart. Emily loved him so much. She told him so, she showed him, and he believed it. A large chapter in the book of his life had closed.

A new one was beginning, and the road might be bumpy but it would also be adventurous. Aaron Hotchner couldn’t remember the last adventure he had. He would go so far as to say he wasn’t very good at them. But he planned to hold on and enjoy this ride. The ups, the downs, and the euphoric ascension only she seemed to be capable of giving him…they were going to make this work.

Hotch wasn’t a quitter. He knew Emily wasn’t either. He also knew that only a lucky man got two chances for such life-changing love. Until this day he didn’t know how lucky he was.

***

  



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